Embodiments of the present invention relate generally to new and useful improvements in mobile aircraft recovery, and more particularly to an apparatus and method for the capture of aircraft, including unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), drones, and other flight devices or projectiles.
The recovery of aircraft without the use of a runway is generally known in the art. See, for example, the “skyhook” approach, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 7,090,166, 7,104,495, 7,114,680 and Pre-Grant Publication Nos. 2005/0151009 and 2005/0178894, where a boom from a ship or other vehicle is extendable to deploy a recovery line to capture the aircraft in flight. The skyhook approach requires that the leading edge of the aircraft wing be strong enough to survive the wire impact on the recovery line. Thus, the aircraft structure is heavy, resulting in a negative impact on aircraft payload capacity and endurance. Other approaches, such as the arresting hook in U.S. Pat. No. 7,143,976 to Snediker et al., or the deployable lifting device in U.S. Pat. No. 4,753,400 to Reuter et al., share similar problems.
In short, there exists a need in the art for a mobile aircraft recovery system that is able to limit damage to the aircraft during recovery using a lighter aircraft and, thus, minimizing, the impact on aircraft endurance. A further need exists for a mobile aircraft recovery system that is itself small and lightweight so as to be mobile, versatile on land and sea, and transportable. Additionally, a need exists for a mobile aircraft recovery system having a strong wind tolerance, including tolerance of wind variation, direction and speed.